Philbrick, Rodman. Zane and the Hurricane: A Story of Katrina. New York: The Blue Sky Press, 2014.

I will be book talking the adventures of Zane Dupree and his friend Malvina, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina tomorrow. Zane travels to New Orleans under protest. His mom, ever interested in introducing him to his Dad’s family, insists he travel without her to New Orleans to meet the Grandmother, Beatrice, he didn’t even know he had. He finds much to his surprise that he is loving getting to know this part of his family when the storm hits. The unthinkable happens; he is separated from his grandmother and must find his own way to survive in the aftermath. He escapes to his grandmother’s attic where he is rescued by Malvina and Tru. And really then the adventure is just beginning. Something is going on with Malvina - Zane is not sure what, he illustrates, “This one time I was riding home on my bike and a doe stepped out of the woods and just stood there motionless. The sun was setting and everything sort of blended together, the woods and the leaves and the little speckled deer and probably me on my bike, too. Maybe that’s why the doe didn’t bolt back into the woods, because she thought standing completely still would make her invisible. It’s like that with Malvina when the fear-some dude mentions her mom. She freezes. No expression on her face, like she’s hiding somewhere deep inside herself.” These mysteries surrounding Malvina are just a small part of what this young boy will face. He introduces the book this way, “I want to warn your right now, there’s some really gross stuff in this book, stuff so awful it made the dog hide his nose. And things so terrible I wanted to close my eyes.”

Zane is an honest, heartwarming, all around neat kid. I will enjoy introducing him to my 8th grade students. These kids are not always as aware of events in the world and our own nation, so this book will also give them a bit of perspective on at least one historical event. I am always on the hunt for adventure stories and books with strong boys in them. I am glad to have found this one. I’m going to introduce them to Homer P. Figg too, just for fun! These fellows will be featured on a Philbrick slide, but are also kids that I love!